Aeronext and NEXT DELIVERY join JUIDA’s activities in response to a request from Wajima City to transport medical supplies by drone to areas isolated by earthquake

Following the occurrence of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1, 2024, Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Keisuke Toji, hereinafter “Aeronext”) and Aeronext’s strategic subsidiary NEXT DELIVERY Inc. (Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture; Representative Director: Keisuke Toji; hereinafter “NEXT DELIVERY”) have been participating in the activities of the General Incorporated Association Japan UAS Industrial Development Association, JUIDA (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President: Shinji Suzuki; hereinafter “JUIDA”), which received a request from Wajima City, to transport medical supplies by drone in the city from January 7, 2024. This is the first effort in Japan to use drones to deliver supplies to disaster-stricken areas in the event of a disaster.
JUIDA received a request from Wajima City on January 4, and with cooperation from Blue innovation Co., Ltd. and Liberaware Co., Ltd. started disaster relief activities such as searching for missing persons and checking damage conditions by drone from January 6.
Aeronext and ACSL Ltd. have joined JUIDA’s activities and conducted the first flight on January 8 to deliver medicine by drone from the Wajima City Cultural Hall to the evacuation center of Konosu Elementary School in the isolated area.
Specifically, the NEXT DELIVERY operation team arrived at the site on January 7, and on January 8, using AirTruck*1, a dedicated logistics drone jointly developed by Aeronext and ACSL, flew to Konosu Elementary School evacuation center, about 3 km away, to deliver medicine for three residents in 10 minutes by drone and then the drone returned to the landing point. On January 9, two more flights were made to deliver medical supplies.

【Outline of Activities】

 Date: From January 8, 2024 until TBD
 Location: Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture
 Delivery details and routes (subject to additions and changes in the future)
1)Transport medical supplies from Wajima City Cultural Hall to Konosu Elementary School evacuation center (approx. 3 km one way)
 Aircraft Used: AirTruck
 Organization
Supervision: General Incorporated Association Japan UAS Industrial Development Association, JUIDA
Operation: NEXT DELIVERY Inc.
Cooperation: Aeronext Inc., ACSL Ltd.

Aeronext and NEXT DELIVERY will continue to contribute to the speediest possible recovery of the disaster-affected areas by combining their experience and technical capabilities in operating drones as a means of air transportation throughout Japan.

Reference

*1 Dedicated Logistics Drone AirTruck
AirTruck, the first mass-produced logistics drone developed in Japan by Aeronext, a next-generation drone technology startup, in collaboration with ACSL, achieves stable flight with Aeronext’s proprietary 4D GRAVITY®*2 airframe structure design technology. AirTruck is a dedicated logistics drone that goes “faster, farther, and is more stable” with enhanced for logistics, specialized for forward motion, and aerodynamic characteristics required for long-distance flight. In Japan, AirTruck has a top-class flight record in areas where drone delivery services have been implemented and tested, and, overseas, it has experience flying in Mongolia at an altitude of 1,300 m and an outside temperature of -15°C (as of November 2023).

*2 Airframe structural design technology 4D GRAVITY®
Airframe structure design technology developed by Aeronext optimizes aerodynamic characteristics by equalizing motor speed regardless of attitude, condition, or movement during flight and controlling lift, drag, and fuselage center of gravity based on fuselage shape and structure to improve the basic performance of industrial drones, such as stability, efficiency, and mobility, and the transportation performance of drones dedicated to logistics. Aeronext has patented this technology and manages it as part of the 4D GRAVITY® patent portfolio. 4D GRAVITY® improves basic performance and opens up new markets and applications for industrial drones.

【About Aeronext Inc.】
With the vision of “new economization of airspace,” Aeronext develops and patents industrial drone technologies and conducts licensing in order to create a world where the sky becomes societal infrastructure and economized, and social issues are resolved with drones. Aeronext’s core technology is 4D GRAVITY®︎, a proprietary structural design technology that optimizes the center of gravity and aerodynamic characteristics to improve the basic performance of industrial drones dedicated to logistics in terms of stability, efficiency, and maneuverability. We have built a strong patent portfolio to make 4D GRAVITY®︎ a standard feature of industrial drones and are developing a partnership-based platform business globally based on the 4D GRAVITY®︎ license. We have also established a strategic subsidiary, NEXT DELIVERY, to enable new smart logistics SkyHub®︎ utilizing drones, and are proactively working on the societal implementation of drone delivery services and commercialization of those services.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/company/

【About NEXT DELIVERY】
A strategic subsidiary of Aeronext, whose main business is drone delivery, established in Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture in 2021 based on the Aeronext Group’s mission, “A new societal infrastructure for the 100-year life era, a world where enrichment is spread to every corner of the world.” Aeronext and Seino HD jointly develop and deploy SkyHub®, a new smart logistics system that connects existing logistics and drone logistics to create a new societal infrastructure. We are also developing related businesses such as development, sales, operation, and maintenance of both hardware and software related to integrated delivery and drone delivery. Starting with Kosuge Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, we are working to improve the efficiency of regional logistics and address regional issues throughout Japan, including Kamishihoro Town, Hokkaido, and Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture.
*For more information: https://nextdelivery.aeronext.co.jp/

*Aeronext, the Aeronext logo, and NEXT DELIVERY, as well as “4D GRAVITY®” “SkyHub®“ are trademarks of Aeronext Inc.
*Other company names and product/service names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.